Feelin' fine in Philly: Jason Babin rediscovers his love for the game with Eagles

Ron Cortes / Philadelphia InquirerJason Babin forces Atlanta Falcons quarterback Chris Redman to throw the ball away during a Dec. 6 game in Atlanta. Babin has 2 1/2 sacks in eight games this season for the Eagles.

PHILADELPHIA — On a Tuesday afternoon in mid-December, a 6-foot-3, 267-pound NFL defensive end found himself fully immersed in a serious game.

A blend of “kitchen” and “swap meet,” as Jason Babin described it, his 4-year-old son, Maddux, calling the shots.

This wasn’t the first Tuesday Babin spent in Maddux’s make-believe world, the 29-year-old’s voice appropriately tender but far from matching the persona of his menacing tattoo-laden arms.

Until recently, these in-season off days were needed escapes for the former first-round draft pick out of Western Michigan University and Paw Paw High School — a ton more enjoyable than Babin’s real world, at least professionally.

Jason Babin

“I tell you what, after those three years in Houston, the two in Seattle and briefly in Kansas City, I was thinking, ‘Dang, is this fun? Am I enjoying it?” Babin said.

He is now — in Philadelphia. The City of Brotherly Love has been exactly that for a player labeled a bust as he sank into the abyss of NFL depth charts over the last few seasons.

Babin has 19 tackles, 2 1/2 sacks and six hurries while averaging “10-12 plays” in eight games for the Eagles since being activated in late October.

With Babin in the mix, Philly is rolling, winning four straight to sit at 9-4 with a one-game lead in the NFC East entering today’s game against San Francisco.

“From my perspective, I’ve got to make the 10 to 12 plays count — get sacks, TFL’s (tackles-for-loss), pressures,” said Babin, who chose to sign with Philadelphia in August because of the style of defense the Eagles play and the “small, powerful, faster” defenders they feature. “I like the way they utilize me standing up. I felt I fit the mold for them, the way they rotate guys, use everybody.”

The Eagles thought similarly of Babin.

“Jason was a guy that we had liked in college and he played well when he was in Houston,” Eagles general manager Tom Heckert said. “We looked at it as a no-brainer and if it worked out, great, and if it didn’t, we weren’t out anything.”

Even as Babin waited for a chance on Sundays, he insisted the camaraderie and passion for winning in Philadelphia was different than at his other stops.

Still, it took six weeks and an injury to another defensive end for Babin to be a regular along the Eagles’ defensive front.

Kalamazoo Gazette fileJason Babin signs a football for a fan during his draft party in 2004. His wife, then his fiance, Sara, sits with him.

Now that he is, he can’t wipe the smile from his face. It’s a look that is less about “I told you so” and more about old-fashioned childlike fun.

“I was in a good mood on a (recent) Wednesday and my wife looked at me (and said), ‘You look like you’re glowing,’” Babin said.

Last Sunday night’s nationally televised 45-38 win over the New York Giants didn’t do anything to change that.

“This was the most fun I’d had all year — good team, Sunday night, everybody was fired up,” said Babin, who pressured Giants quarterback Eli Manning on the game’s final possession. “It was amazing.”

“Amazing” is a long way from how Babin felt a year ago with the Chiefs or before that with the Seahawks — his first two attempts to right a career that had fallen short of its billing when the Texans selected him 27th overall in the 2004 NFL Draft.

Babin remains baffled by what happened in Seattle — four games, one tackle, nearly two seasons wasted.

“I knew what I did in the preseason,” Babin said of his time with the Seahawks, who cut him early last season. “I watched the guys in front of me and saw what they did. Most everybody was blind. I was just concerned with getting myself in the right situation.”

Kansas City wasn’t a good fit, either, though he did start four games there in 2008.

Still, five years in, the resume wasn’t improving.

Yet, when asked if he thought his career might be over, Babin laughed before the end of the question.

“I’m not done by any means. ... There’s still a lot of football left in me,” he said.

That confidence did wonders for his family — his wife, Sara, 2-year old Talan and Maddux — as they bounced around from city to city.

“It’s kind of what held me together,” said Sara Babin, formerly Sara Davis, of Portage. “Even as we went through the last season together and didn’t know where we’d be, he had confidence in himself. Because he never lost confidence in himself, I never really doubted it.

“Always, no matter the situation at work, he’s always been able to walk through the door and leave work at work.”

Babin, who is leasing a home in nearby New Jersey — and keeps a home in suburban Houston, along with his hunting ranch in Center, Texas — hopes there aren’t any more new doors to walk through.

“It’s why I want to make something happen somewhere,” said Babin, who’s hoping the Eagles will re-sign him after the season. “My kids are getting to school age. I want to settle in somewhere. Plus, I found a place where I love football again.”

And, for the first time in a while, it appears he’s wanted.

“I actually talked with Jason about this and I think he really does feel comfortable here,” Heckert said. “We would love to get something done with him.”